September 8 is Star Trek Day, the 57th anniversary of the first broadcast of the groundbreaking original television series. IFLScience recently attended Destination Trek in the UK to speak with Chris Lee, the first Chief Scientist at the UK Space Agency. The challenge we put to him is how he envisions the near future of space exploration, and if we are getting any closer to Star Trek. The answers may disappoint impatient space enthusiasts, but Lee’s views come from 40 years in the field – he recently retired from the UK Space Agency, is a visiting Professor at the University...